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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29198652">Every Hero Has An Origin Story</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MangoB1rd/pseuds/MangoB1rd'>MangoB1rd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, BAMF Cara | Captain Puffy, BAMF Toby Smith | Tubbo, Child Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone here needs a hug, Except Dream, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Temporary Character Death, Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, Toby Smith | Tubbo Needs a Hug, TommyInnit Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), actually literally all the characters in the tags are hybrids, all the characters tagged are the main ones but more will be added later, everyone in this fic is a goddamn hybrid except for a handful, everyone is getting therapy, for Tubbo at least, fuck dream, he doesnt get some for quite awhile, im so sorry but i made myself cry while writing this so im not sure how you guys will handle this, more tags added later as we go deeper into this, not beta read we die like l'manburg on doomsday, thank karlnapity that i had to put m/m, that wasnt a tag before but now it is, tommy he uh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:40:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29198652</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MangoB1rd/pseuds/MangoB1rd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The void had called out to Tubbo the moment Dream swung his axe at him. It was a pleasant calling, a calming one, telling him it was okay to rest now. it was okay to sleep for once without worrying what would come next.</p><p>But then he heard that scream. Tubbo heard Tommy's scream for his best friend as the void started to take over.</p><p>That's when Tubbo decided he wasn't dying, not yet at least. There was still a green bastard he needed to kill before he could do any relaxing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Tubbo &amp; Eret &amp; Cara | Captain Puffy &amp; Ranboo, Tubbo &amp; Tommyinnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>204</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Final Goodbye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright, let's go haha, first long fic for the dream smp fandom</p><p>i started writing this legit the day after january 20th and after planning the whole story out, i finally started pumping out chapters in my google documents pfft </p><p>so i guess enjoy, stick around if you want, itll just be me messing around with cool story concepts and after the fic is done i either continue writing or disappear off the face of AO3 except for leaving kudos on other people's work</p><p> </p><p>also as well! i'm not not good in terms of knowing which trigger warnings to put down, so i'll put down the ones i know come up in this chapter</p><p>TW: Murder Attempt, Temporary Death, Blood</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A masked green monster stood over the two children, with the first being fully armed while the other two were armorless without weapons. They’d been there for hours long at this point in time, Tubbo tried his best to not show any fear to the monster that stood in front of him, but it wasn’t of any use.</p><p>Tubbo was tired.</p><p><br/>
Tubbo wanted to sleep.</p><p>Tubbo wanted to be anywhere but this vault of attachments as Dream would call it.</p><p>Dream had been going on about something for the past few minutes, with Tubbo’s best friend, Tommy, yelling at the monster who spoke with clear, calm words. </p><p>The masked monster adjusted his mask. “I can’t kill you, Tommy. We both know that.”</p><p>“Aw, are you scared of me, Dream? Scared of the biggest man on this server?” Tommy asked, a smirk falling on his face. </p><p>“So I constructed a prison as another way to deal with you.”</p><p>Tubbo’s face fell, looking away from Dream and his eyes turning toward Tommy. Tommy’s facade of confidence broke as soon as those words came from Dream’s mouth.  The phoenix hybrid’s face twitched, sucking in a breath of air, before gesturing for Tubbo to come close.</p><p><br/>
Tubbo hurried to Tommy’s side, practically clinging to him. Prison? <em>No, no, no, Tommy couldn’t go to prison. He had only just gotten his best friend back. Dream couldn’t take Tommy away again he can’t just do it twice. Please don’t take him away. </em></p><p>Dream listed things off about the prison, counting each of them with a finger. “It’s inescapable, no way for you to get out. I don’t think you would have even been able to come up with a single escape plan either way. Hundreds of stacks of obsidian as the walls, the finest Elder Guardians in the server around the place, there're guards who’ll go down the block, their schedule would be impossible to figure out without being there for <em>years.”</em></p><p>“How? How did you even make this thing? <em>When</em> did you make this thing?” Tommy questioned, eyes flickering between Dream and Tubbo. Tubbo already knew the answer well, he had questioned Dream back when L’manburg still existed about the towering blackstone and obsidian box sitting on the land. </p><p>“You were gone in exile for over<em> nine</em> months, Tommy. Four of which you spent alone with me as company,” Tommy dug his nails into his own arm at the mention of exile. “I had spare time to build an inescapable prison. All it took was a lot of time, effort, planning, construction…” Dream’s eyes locked with Tommy’s. “A little bit of evil.”</p><p>Tubbo listened to the two banter back and forth, the hero and the villain of the story. The protagonist and antagonist. Although they both  knew that Dream thought of the roles in reverse when it came to those two words. </p><p>Tubbo tried lightening the mood, cracking jokes for Tommy to at least smile once. It worked for a bit, Tommy had let out a chuckle, a giggle. The Avian was about to say something back in return until the masked monster would say something that caught the duo’s attention. </p><p>“Tubbo, enough with the jokes. Don’t you get it? I’m gonna lock Tommy away forever. No rescues, no escapes...<em>nothing.”</em> The monster looked at Tommy once more, striding forward, placing a hand on the hybrid’s shoulder. “When you were in exile, Tommy...everything was perfect. You finally listened to me, you lost your rebellious spark. But of course you had to run away with Techno, because you had an attachment to him. You ruined everything.”</p><p>“I didn’t- I didn’t have an <em>attachment-”</em></p><p>“Tommy, let the adult speak. Listen to someone for once in your life! Just know you could have avoided this, Tommy. The prison wasn’t even meant for you at first! But you had to go and ruin everything and run away!”</p><p>Tubbo grimaced, his mind flashing through a few of his friends. “Who was it meant for originally? Who were you planning on trapping in that...that<em> hell?”</em></p><p>Dream pondered, staring at the older boy, before answering. “That isn’t important. But what is important is that Tommy is locked away for good. But Tubbo, I know you, Tubbo. You’re tired of being pushed around, you’re tired of your best friend being hurt...I know that the moment Tommy is placed in that prison cell, you’ll try and get him out even if it kills you.”</p><p>Even if Tubbo couldn’t see it, he could sense the grin behind Dream’s mask. A sadistic smile the monster wore, not like the smile upon his mask, but a smile that showed his true intentions. </p><p>Dream focused his attention back onto Tommy. “Look, you always wanted to be the hero, right Tommy?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer. “Every hero has an origin story. Achilles had Patroclus,  Spider-Man had Uncle Ben, but then we have you. Tommy…” Dream moved his mask enough just to confirm Tubbo’s thoughts. A sadistic smile for sure layed on the face of what was nothing but a dark void. “Tommy, you have your <em>Tubbo.”</em></p><p>Tubbo knew what Dream had meant, his eyes shrunk, his hands shook. Why couldn’t he breath right? Was there something wrong with him? He couldn’t feel anything, he couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t hear anything Tommy shouted at the masked monster, he couldn’t hear the protests.<br/>
It was about time for Tubbo’s end to come, after all, he’d been killed twice at a young age. Once at thirteen, another at 15. Now, he would be getting killed at the age of 16. It was time for him to go. </p><p>The words <em>pawn</em> and <em>follower</em> were thrown around, but Tubbo couldn’t hear them in full context. He couldn’t hear or feel anything but the welcoming of a void. </p><p>His hearing had come back just in time to hear Dream speak once more. </p><p>“Tommy, I’ll be nice to you, here’s your chance to say goodbye to Tubbo. Three minutes.”</p><p>“He’s not gonna fucking die! Tubbo’s gonna get out of here, we’re both gonna get out of here! Every single time we’ve fought against someone, whether it be you, or Schlatt, or Techno! We’ve always made it out alive...together. Both of us are gonna get out!”</p><p>Dream growled, shoving Tommy toward Tubbo. “This is your last chance to say goodbye to your best friend! If you don’t do it now, you’ll regret for the rest of your life that you never said bye! It’s Tubbo’s time to go, Tommy.” <em>Tick.</em> “Accept it.” <em>Tock.</em> “The clock is ticking.” <em>Tick. </em></p><p>Tubbo’s best friend stumbled over to him, grabbing his shoulders. “Tubbo, Tubbo, listen. I don’t give a shit about what that green bastard says. We’re escaping, you and me together, we can run through that portal! We- We can find the old portal from my exile! From there we could hide in Techno’s house until Dream passes we-” </p><p>Tubbo cut off his friend’s endless rambles, rambles that he knew wouldn’t matter in the end. “We’ll be dead before we get to the portal.”</p><p>Tubbo watched his best friend’s expression drop, just from that he knew that Tommy wouldn’t accept the truth. He never would. Even when they were young, back when they lived in a cottage in the woods close by the village, back when there was a family, Tommy never accepted the truth. Whether it be something simple as Tommy claiming he could defeat Techno in a spar, or that Phil would return home from the Antarctic Empire soon enough, Tommy refused to accept reality. He couldn’t even accept it when the truth was right in front of him.</p><p>“It’s too much of a distance, Tommy. It’s...alright.” Tubbo mustered up a smile for his best friend. “We’ve had our laughs...it was fun.”</p><p>Tommy sputtered out, in his panicked state he started to shake Tubbo back and forth. “Why have you accepted this so quickly? Tubbo, Tubbo, please. We’ll find a way to escape!”</p><p>“Tommy!” Tubbo shouted, making his best friend shut his mouth. He sighed, muttering a quick apology before continuing. “We have no gear, we have no weapons, no escape. It’s...it’s over. I’m sorry. But we both know from personal experience...from the country of L’manburg, to just being a family in our childhood, to...to this. To us. All good things must come to an end eventually.”</p><p>Tommy shook his head, swallowing back tears. “No, no, no, no! Listen...Tubbo, please. I- I gave Punz payment, I gave him so many diamonds and- and gold! He’ll come through that portal at any moment now! Just you wait! He’ll come save you! He’ll come save us!”</p><p>Tubbo glanced at the portal, the purple intriguing him, a way to leave this underground vault. A small part of his mind whispered to him, whispers that sounded familiar to Tommy’s train of thought. <em>Surely he’ll be rescued by someone, some grand entrance from a hero?</em> But he knew that it was over for him. He’d already seen his last bit of sunlight. There wasn’t gonna be a surprise hero who saved the day. </p><p>“I hate to break it to you Tommy but...I’m gonna have to leave in about thirty seconds.”<br/>
Tubbo hadn’t realized he, himself, was crying until he noticed the tears rolling down his best friend’s face. He placed a hand onto his own face, noticing the tears left behind on the tips of fingers.</p><p>Tommy had pulled Tubbo into a tight hug, a hug so tight it was like he never wanted to let go. “Tubbo, what am I without you?”</p><p>Tubbo didn’t hesitate with his words. </p><p>“Yourself.”</p><p>Tubbo could only watch his friend spiral, Tommy was shaking his head, glancing between his friend and Dream. That small bit of hope he had at the start of their conversation was draining, he could see it in his friend’s eyes. Bright blue eyes, not the same as they were before exile, bright nethertheless, but they’d been swirling with a dark gray.</p><p>“But...but we knew that we would come out alive, right? Like we always do? When we said goodbye to everyone, we knew we would see them again! We would always say goodbye to our friends, but then we could come back in victory.”</p><p>“Tommy, think of this as chess.  You know how I’m a pawn?” Tubbo’s eyes met with Dream’s. “This is checkmate. This is it. It’s the end...and I suggest you resign for once in your life, TommyInnIt. There’s no escaping this. I can’t change my fate like you can.”</p><p>Tommy remained quiet, still not letting go of the hug that kept them together. Tubbo couldn’t tell what thoughts were running through his best friend’s mind exactly, but he had an idea of what they were.</p><p>Words were whispered in the silent room, whispers that appeared so loud at the time. <br/>
“Tubbo, I don’t want to let go.”</p><p>“I don’t either, but, we both know that we need to let go of things or we’ll never be able to recover from those losses.”</p><p>“I know, Tubbo. I...I would rather watch my discs burn fifty times over, than lose you.”</p><p>“I would rather watch L’manburg get blown up again and again than lose you.”</p><p>Dream had come over at one point, ripping apart the two best friends, taking Tubbo by the wrist, “Come on now. I gave your time to say goodbye. At this point we’re prolonging the inevitable.”</p><p>Tommy had tried to reach for his best friend one last time, but only air took up the spot Tubbo had been in moments before. His hands were empty now. </p><p>Tubbo smiled for one last time. “Goodbye, Tommy.”</p><p>Tommy’s face was blank for a moment, before an expression of acceptance had finally dawned on him. It was short. It was there for a second. But Tubbo had seen it. </p><p>“Goodbye, Tubbo.”</p><p>Tubbo turned away from Tommy, his wrist still being held on tightly by the masked monster that was humming a tune. A familiar tune. An anthem of a nation that had fell weeks ago. </p><p>Dream’s axe was summoned in his hand, a soft humming noise as it appeared. Tubbo eyed the axe, he’d seen it be used time and time again against mobs, enemies. </p><p>Now it would be used against a former president. </p><p>“Any last words for the world, Tubbo? Any last words for your best friend? You have the stage now.”</p><p>Tubbo pondered for a moment before deciding. “I’m sorry it had to end this way, <em>My Tommy.”</em></p><p>“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, <em>My Tubbo.”</em></p><p>Dream chuckled, before swinging the axe into Tubbo’s stomach. A loud blow right into him. It was a calming experience, surprisingly, getting struck in the stomach with an axe, as you do. His body collapsed on him before he could feel anything, knees falling against the stone. His ears were ringing, the only sound he could hear was his own heavy breathing, which would soon come to a stop too. </p><p>A bitter taste was in his mouth, familiar from all the wars he had been in time and time again. His hand was shaking, yet he reached to touch whatever was coming out. His fingers were red. <em>That's blood, wasn’t it? </em></p><p>A welcoming void took over as Tubbo fell onto his side, dark spots taking his vision. He swore he could make out two figures standing in the distance. One had horns. The other wore a trench coat. Both gazed upon the new arrival. A third hole in the void started to open up, just for Tubbo. </p><p>A pain in Tubbo’s stomach started to kick in, but just as quick as it came, the pain faltered behind. Reality was falling slowly behind. Death wasn’t easy, but Tubbo had to join both Schlatt and Wilbur now. He would see Tommy again one day, hopefully it wouldn’t be soon. But they could see each other again.</p><p>It would have been easy to accept. It should have been easy to accept. So easy to finally slip into the Void and wait for his friends and family to arrive. </p><p>But it wasn’t.</p><p>Tommy screamed out for Tubbo, but there was nobody holding his almost dead body. He attempted to make out the words of the two voices shouting. </p><p>“Let <em>go</em> of me you, green bastard! I- I want to hug him as he dies! As he dies because me suffering in a prison cell wasn’t good enough for you!”</p><p>“Tommy, there’s no point in cradling a <em>dead</em> body. We have to go now.”</p><p>“<em>Make me!</em> You have absolutely nothing on me! Not after you just killed the one person I had cared for in this entire fucked up world!”</p><p>“That’s <em>enough</em>, Tommy! Here’s what’ll happen, you’re gonna be a good listener, alright? So listen closely. You aren’t gonna fight. You’re gonna let me take you to the prison. You’re gonna be quiet. Do you understand?”</p><p>“...okay.”</p><p>It was buzzing noises again, a strange hum that flew through his ears, he couldn’t hear anything again as his vision was nearly covered in black spots. </p><p>The realization had hit him either way from just a scream. From a single exchange between his best friend and the enemy. A singular scream that just radiated the words: Please don’t leave me again. </p><p>Wilbur had left behind his family and friends, leaving for them to fix the puzzle pieces. Wilbur had already left Tommy, his brother, behind. Wilbur didn’t want to atone for the consequences of blowing up L’manburg. If Wilbur hadn’t died, Tubbo would have never been put in the position of choosing a piece of land over the person who’d always been by his side. If Wilbur hadn’t died, Fundy and Niki wouldn’t have spiraled into the people they were now. Fundy would have gotten the father figure he needed. Niki would have gotten the best friend she needed. Fundy had gotten so bad after Wilbur died he had been allowed to leave the server, a secret he told to few, by Callahan so he could recover from everything. </p><p>If Tubbo died...he’d be leaving behind the people in Snowchester, the few friends he had, but most importantly:<br/>
Tubbo would leave Tommy with a monster who had plans to throw him in an inescapable prison.  <br/>
He never knew what happened to Tommy in exile, but at this point Tubbo could piece two and two together. </p><p>At the latest festival, Tommy had asked Tubbo if he knew what Dream had done to him. Tommy’s voice was shaking when he asked, he sounded terrified. </p><p>Tubbo had noticed the tiny mannerisms that had been locked into Tommy, with the main one being about armor. One should never ask Tommy for his armor.  </p><p>What would Dream do now that Tubbo was gone? Tubbo wasn’t naive or an idiot like everyone thought he was during his presidency. Dream would just do what he did again to Tommy when he was in exile. Tubbo saw the tower at Logstedshire. He thought Tommy had died.  Tommy would have died because of Dream. Sure, they had their issues they had to work out before exile, but Tommy hadn’t built towers with the intentions he had in Logstedshire before. </p><p>Would Tommy even be Tommy anymore if Tubbo let Dream drag him off into prison?</p><p>Realization, after realization hitting him. The void around him slowly disappeared, reality filling in the black spots, the pain kicking back into his stomach and the rest of his body. Dream and Tommy’s voices had been long gone, they went back up the mountain and were now at the entrance at this point. </p><p>Tubbo needed to survive. Not just for himself, but for Tommy and everyone that cared for him. <br/>
He let out a heavy breath, placing his hand against the stone, pushing himself up lightly. His eyes tried to focus on the world around him, there was blood underneath him. His world reeked of blood and the black spots that kept trying to come in. </p><p>A sight of an ender chest caught the boy’s eye, how had he not seen it before? It was his one way ticket to surviving what should have been a fatal blow to the stomach. </p><p>Tubbo used his one hand to push the rest of himself up to his knees, stumbling up as he held his stomach wound with his right hand. He couldn’t think right, not with the constant pain lingering. </p><p>His legs shook, his legs burned with an unknown pain. Tubbo collapsed onto his knees once more, he couldn’t even stand for a few seconds. His breath shook, but he needed to do this.<br/>
Tubbo refused to die. </p><p>Stumbling onto his feet once more, Tubbo took a leap of faith for the enderchest, his hands grabbing onto the lock and clicking it open. A whirl of magic spun in the air, a soft humming sound filling the room, and inside the chest revealed piles of items. </p><p>Tubbo would have to thank his past self later, once he got back to the mainlands of the server at least. </p><p>He dug around in the chest, tossing items that were meaningless to him at the moment, from weapons to gold to a few emeralds. It took a minute or two before he finally found what he needed. </p><p>One was nearly half a stack of golden apples, Tubbo had grabbed one instantly, taking a bite out of the sacred fruit. A pleasant feeling overtook his body, the effects of them already working on him. But the other object was small and golden, two emerald eyes glaring at him. A Totem of Undying. </p><p>
  <em>“Are you sure you want to give this to me?” Tubbo asked Eret as they walked through the fields with Ranboo and Phil. The other two had been up ahead, cleaning themselves off from the ashes and soot of a burnt down building. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Eret smiled at the younger boy. “Take it as a…’I’m sorry we burned down the mansion before you could see one’ present. Besides, I’m sure you’ll need it one day. Death seems to always be chasing after you. And if you don’t need it? Well, the totem would be a lovely decoration for your room.” </em>
</p><p>Tubbo clutched to the totem, now no longer holding onto his wound. His wound stung without the support of a hand, but the golden apples would have to suffice as he made his way back to spawn. </p><p>He couldn’t use the boat to get back home, it had taken hours to even get to this place, that wasn’t even counting the hour of climbing up the mountain they had to trek through.</p><p><br/>
So the only option home was the same thing Tubbo had been eying earlier, back when he had surely thought death was the last option for him.</p><p>The dimension of the Nether. </p><p>His hand reached for the purple glow, and Tubbo fell through.</p><p>Tubbo took a deep breath of air, but it wasn’t pleasant as it should have been. It was humid, uncomfortable. He just wanted to get back into the Overworld already.</p><p>But there was no clear path to the other pathways in the Nether, he didn’t even know exactly where he was in terms of biomes. </p><p>He muttered a few curses to himself, struggling to remember the coordinates to the portal as he checked his communicator that could possibly tell him where his location was.</p><p>He was met with a broken device, static filling the screen to what should have been a list of contacts to whisper to. </p><p>How did Tubbo even forget something important as that? Dream had shattered both Tommy and Tubbo’s communicators back when he told them to toss their items in the pit. Maybe Dream and his former cabinet were right when they said he was stupid.</p><p>No, no….no, Tubbo couldn’t think like that. He wouldn’t even give those thoughts the time of day anymore. </p><p>Tubbo didn’t know how much time had passed at this point, stumbling through the hellzone that was known as the Nether, Tubbo could barely breathe. He had been eating golden apple after golden apple, if he stopped eating them Tubbo could...Tubbo could lose his last life. </p><p>He had the totem of course, but he didn’t even know if the totem would heal his injuries...or would it just revive him and let him go back to dying? </p><p>Tubbo stopped against a pillar once he reached a biome he knew as the Basalt Deltas. His legs still shook underneath him as he collapsed to the ground, he could feel the heat burning through his clothes.</p><p>When Tubbo was younger, back when Phil and Techno still lived with them in the cottage, they had warned him about the Nether if he were to ever go into it. You shouldn’t ever sit down, lay down in the Nether. Never stop moving unless you are completely sure you’re safe, and even if you are sure, you should always be on guard.</p><p>But Tubbo had never listened to their rules either way, when he first stepped into the nether, he just stood there on the netherrack, not sure if he should be enchanted or terrified of the hellish biome</p><p>Tales of the Nether had been told to him by Phil as far as he could remember. A place that only the strongest of adventurers could go through, a place so fierce and mighty thousands of people had come through the portal but never made it back.</p><p>Phil had always assured him that one day both Tubbo and Tommy could become strong warriors and go to the Nether themselves. Phil would take them both there and they could shoot down their first Ghast, break into their first fortress, slaughter their first Blaze. </p><p>Of course, that never happened. They had both gone to the Nether for their first time when they were nine. They had both gone with someone they barely even knew. </p><p>He took a bite out of another golden apple, his last one. He would be fine for about five minutes so he needed to move fast.</p><p>Hours had to have passed since he entered the Nether, Tubbo wouldn’t know,  but he’d been lucky enough to make it this far with golden apples.</p><p>Tubbo pushed himself up once more, before making a run for it. He didn’t know where he was running, but he just knew the moment that the golden apple would wear off, Tubbo would die. <br/>
He knew he had a totem, he wouldn’t be permanently dead like Wilbur and Schlatt were, but just...the thought of dying in the Nether. </p><p>It made Tubbo sick in the stomach.</p><p>Tubbo swore he could see the end of the tunnel, not in a death way or anything, but he saw the long pathway of cobble. </p><p>Ice and cobblestone paths leading right to where he needed to be. </p><p>He jumped onto the pathway, nearly missing the impact, his hands were holding onto the edge. He smelled the burning of flesh.</p><p>That was Tubbo’s flesh. </p><p>A pain sinking through his skin once more, red dripping against the already crimson floor.</p><p>He threw himself up against the cobble, taking deep, steady breaths to calm himself down. The effects of the golden apple were fading away already. He just had to keep on running, he was almost there, he was almost at the portal. </p><p>A portal of purple sat in the middle of an entrance, cobblestone paths aligned all around. The boy took a few more steps, he..was almost there. </p><p>Tubbo hadn’t noticed the trail of blood he left behind as he dragged himself through hell for so long. If he even made it back at this point, would he even survive?</p><p>
  <em>That’s what the totem was for, right? </em>
</p><p>He could vaguely remember Techno using one of those at the execution months ago, how he had escaped within minutes. But Techno was stronger than the average person, he didn’t gain the nickname of being the Blood God for no reason. </p><p>Tubbo wasn’t strong like Techno, Tubbo wasn’t strong like any of the people he knew. Would using a totem even work on him? Or would it fail on him like everything else did?</p><p>A void of dark purple opened up to Tubbo, he let the void swallow him as the fresh scent of the overworld took over. </p><p>Buzzing of bees, a clear sound of the running water from the riverside. A clear light shining down against the dirt.</p><p>Tubbo did manage to see the sun again, at least one more time than he had previously thought. <br/>
His hand held onto the golden totem tightly, his life did depend on it after all. If it even slipped out of his hands for a moment, it could very well be the means of his end. </p><p>His legs collapsed underneath him, Tubbo could no longer hold himself up with the little strength he had left from eating those Gapples. </p><p>A flash of white took over his vision, his hearing disappeared once more, fading out until only a pitch was heard. His grasp on the totem slipped, as if it turned into nothing but rubble. </p><p>It wasn’t like when Death took him at all, there was no calming, dark void calling out for him. There was nobody waiting for him there on the other side. It was just like a voice, a lovely voice, telling him to rest. He would wake up eventually. But for now he just needed to sleep.</p><p>Tubbo listened. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>that's a wrap for the first chapter haha, oh man....tubbo isn't really doing pogchamp, i dont think big man tommy is doing alright either</p><p>passing out at the nether portal pogchamp haha</p><p>oh god uh, updates are whenever, today i offer you the first chapter of a story, tomorrow who knows?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Awakening Within Palace Walls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>another chapter, another day<br/>we get to meet some key characters in this chapter haha<br/>as i've said before, not the best at trigger warnings so tell me in the comments if there's something i should put haha</p><p>TW: Mentions of Death</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tubbo was alive.</p><p>He couldn’t hear much, he didn’t even open his eyes yet, but he could still taste the blood in his mouth. Now, if Tubbo were dead, surely he wouldn’t still be injured. If Tubbo were dead, he would be in a Void right now. He wasn’t sure what Wilbur and Schlatt were doing in that Void when he saw them there. The two had just been standing there, waiting for someone. </p><p>The gentle hum in his ears faded to the back of his mind, his hearing returning as he took a deep breath, digging his nails into whatever he was on.</p><p>It was soft, comfy, something that had a familiar touch to the teen. It was pretty much the opposite of what Tubbo had been dying on who knows how long ago. Was it a few hours? A day? A week? </p><p>He muttered something under his breath, honestly, even if Tubbo was glad to be alive, he would rather go back to sleep. Tubbo knew he had wanted to do something, actually, why had he thought he could possibly be dead? He still lived in Snowchester after all, to be safe from everyone and everything. The only person he needed now to make Snowchester complete was-</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Oh right. </p><p>Tubbo’s eyes had shot wide open and he sat up, despite the protests from his body and brain. Everything was too bright, everything made him feel sick.</p><p>But he remembered the blasting heat of the nether, the screams and cries of his best friend, the swing of an axe to his stomach. There was the creeping echo of Death not too far behind Tubbo, he had narrowly avoided it, jumping out the way and missing it like a freight train.</p><p>Thoughts of his best friend filled his mind, thoughts of that monster, Dream, not even letting him hold what he thought was his dead friend’s body. They had been closer than friends, they were practically brothers, even if Phil didn’t call Tubbo his son. </p><p>“You’re finally awake.”</p><p>Tubbo glanced to the side, squinting to see who was in the room with him. Their voice sounded familiar, it reminded him of times of the walls that surrounded L’Manburg, it reminded him of both peace and betrayal. He rubbed his eyes with his hands a few times, trying to adjust himself to the brightness of the room so he could see whoever spoke. </p><p>He sucked in a breath as his eyes met with the person. Tubbo couldn’t stop the grin that creeped onto his face. While it had taken Tommy a while, nearly two years, to even think about forgiving this person, Tubbo had done it in only after several months. </p><p>“Eret.”</p><p>The King of the SMP gave a small smile in return. “Hey Tubbo. Bet you’re surprised to see me, aren’t you? Especially if we found you collapsed by the portal looking like death had knocked you in the face. After all, who would expect the King of the SMP to be hanging around then? But you used the totem I gave you! Shame you won’t be able to use it for decoration though.” </p><p>“What do you mean by ‘we’?”</p><p>“Puffy and I were walking through the server, she wanted to discuss with me something about her knighthood. We were just about to head back to the castle when this little fellow- actually he was taller than me- this tall fellow, Ranboo I believe his name was, came running to us in a panic, begging us for help. He led us to the portal and, well, there you were. Passed out and collapsed on the floor.”</p><p>“Well, that’s what travelling hours in the Nether without armor does to you.”</p><p>Eret got up from her seat, hands twitching slightly after Tubbo’s comment, but took off the robe wrapped around her shoulders. “Here. “ She handed the robe into Tubbo’s hands, who gladly took the warmth of it. “I’ll be right back, Tubbo. Puffy and Ranboo are worried sick for you, so I’m sure they’ll want to know that you’re okay and they’ll want to see you.”</p><p>With that, Eret left the room, leaving the door creaked slightly open as he headed down the hall. Tubbo pulled off the bed covers, hugging himself with his arms. His mind only whispered one thing. One thing that just ingrained itself into Tubbo’s mind. </p><p>Tommy’s trapped in Pandora’s Vault.</p><p>Tubbo let out a shaky breath, his nails digging into his skin. During his time of presidency, the teen had seen the prison from afar, slowly being built up from the ground by the best redstone engineer in the server. Tubbo had asked Dream about it before, after some pressure from Quackity and Fundy. The masked man didn’t even skip a beat when he told Tubbo it was nothing to worry about, it was just a simple precautionary measure for a certain someone who was causing trouble.</p><p>
  <em>“Are they from L’manburg? Or previously a part of L’manburg?” Tubbo had asked, picking at the cuffs on his sleeves. His mind shouted at him, telling him to stop worrying about Tommy. His best friend would handle himself out there, right? Besides, it wouldn’t be forever, it was just a for now situation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dream had peeked over Tubbo’s shoulder, looking over at one of the many hills in the President’s country. “Hm, it’s complicated. It isn’t anyone you care about though, don’t worry about it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Is it for Tommy?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The admin’s hands twitched, moving to adjust the mask he wore. “No, Tommy’s being taken care of in exile.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Right...and then he’ll come back soon. We can go back to being best friends.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, Tommy will come back eventually. I just don’t think he’s ready to come back to the mainlands, he needs to learn a lesson for now.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Right, right, a lesson.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tubbo had ignored the voice in the back of his head that whispered to him. Tommy had already learned his lesson time and time again. Tubbo thought back to the days of Pogtopia, to the day both Techno and Wilbur blew up L’Manburg. They were teaching L’manburg a lesson, they were teaching Tommy a lesson. But was violence really the only way to prove a lesson to someone?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Tubbo, you trust me right?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The goat hybrid looked up at the admin of the server, his mind and heart were both giving him red flags. “Of course I do, Dream.”</em>
</p><p>Maybe if Tubbo had just listened to what his head told him that day, none of this would have happened. If Tubbo had just told Dream he didn’t like the idea of having an inescapable prison by the bay of L’manburg, there wouldn’t be a prison to worry about in the present time. Then again, this was Dream they were talking about. That admin would do anything to get what he wanted, even if it meant giving up everything he ever had before.</p><p>Which is exactly what Dream had done the past year or so. Dream didn’t care about anyone anymore. Dream wouldn’t give a shit if his former best friends lost their last lives on this server. Not anymore. Maybe the Dream from the beginning of the server would. At least that Dream made sense when it came to his actions. This Dream didn’t. </p><p>Tubbo sighed, glancing out at the window to see the sky had been covered with gray clouds. Light drizzle dropped against the glass, leaving marks as it fell. Fitting for the events of what just happened. Dream. Tommy. Henry was alive somehow. Attachments. The Discs. Pawn. Checkmate. Axe. Dream. </p><p>Tubbo wrapped the robe around himself tightly. </p><p>Someone knocked against the wood of the slightly opened door, pushing it open without waiting for a reply from Tubbo. He didn’t know why his hands clutched onto the ends of the robe tighter. </p><p>Tubbo recognized the three people who stood at the doorway, sure he wasn’t particularly close with one of them, and the others had technically been traitors, but none of that mattered. </p><p>Ranboo smiled at the smaller teen, not moving, but giving an awkward thumbs up. “Tubbo, you’re alright! I found you by the nether portal and I’m just an enderman I mean, I couldn’t do anything so I-”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Ranboo. I already got the details from Eret. Apparently I passed out, you found me, Puffy and Eret brought me to the castle, and now I should go find Sam,” Tubbo said, rushing through his words. He knew Sam was the Warden and builder of Pandora’s Vault, that meant he would be holding Tommy in there. Both Tubbo and Sam had worked months on the Guardian Farm, Sam was practically just another family member Tubbo had collected over the years. Surely, Sam would listen to Tubbo’s request, right?</p><p>“Sam? What do you need him for?” Puffy questioned. “You could always just message him on your communicator, he always answers messages at the moment.”</p><p>“My communicator got blown up.”</p><p>All eyes were on Tubbo, watching him, staring at him. He could feel it. He could feel the stares. </p><p>“That’s against the server rules,” Eret said, his body stiffening. “Last time someone did that, as a prank, they got imprisoned in the courthouse for weeks. They had their items taken away and had to start over.”</p><p>Tubbo remembered the day all too well. There’d only been a handful of new people besides the original eight, the new group of people included: Tubbo, Tommy, Purpled, Punz, and Fundy. It was the same day as usual back then, disc wars, scamming people, griefing people without the worry of getting sent away, fun things like that. </p><p>Fundy, the little fox boy who had just gained enough freedom to explore the world and join servers, had joined Tommy against Purpled and Tubbo in a debate, which quickly escalated into a battle, which escalated into a one day war. It was all for fun really, the initial debate had just been over some loot from a bastion nearby and who would get what. </p><p>But then Fundy had destroyed Purpled’s communicator. </p><p>
  <em>The four kids stared down at the remains of metal and redstone that sat in the dirt. None even spoke a word. It was supposed to be fun and games. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fundy let out a shaky breath he had been holding. “Purpled, Purpled I’m so sorry that- we’re fucked. We’re so fucked. I’m so fucked!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Maybe we could try and fix it before anyone finds out?” Tubbo suggested, pulling out his communicator. “Fundy and I can probably figure out how to fix it, we might need blueprints but Purpled and Tommy could just steal some from Dream, Callahan, or Sam.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Purpled picked up the remains and closed his eyes. “Fundy, it’s fine. I don’t care much for those either way, I don’t really do servers except for Hypixel so I don’t use those things. But we’re gonna be able to fix it, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course we will!” Fundy said, clapping his paws together. “We’ll fix it and everything will be fine! I won’t get punished, we’ll all agree to never speak of this again, and we’ll just forget about the bastion loot!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The other three muttered in agreement, the loot had some good stuff in it, but they’d rather give up a few netherite scraps than have their friend go through an Admin’s wrath. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Alright then, Tubs and Fundy, head over to my dirt hut and stay there while Purpled and I get blueprints. It shouldn’t be too hard, ay?” Tommy said, already digging in through his bag to see if there was anything useful in them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You got it, big man. Let’s just all forget about this and-”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Forget about what?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>All four of them knew exactly whose voice that belonged to.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dream was standing at the entrance of the spawn, his hands already holding a sword and shield. “Did you guys seriously break a communicator? You know those are against the rules.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, come on! We didn’t do anything! Everything’s fine, Dream.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Whatever you say, Tomathy. But I already know who broke what, perks of being an admin.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fundy had beads of sweat rolling down his face, even Tubbo could see from the corner of his eye that the fox was shaking.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Come on, Fundy. We don’t have all day.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“This is shitty.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s what Sapnap said when he broke George’s communicator. Now let’s go.”</em>
</p><p>“Mhm, they completely broke those rules.” Tubbo nodded. “It’s kind of funny actually. The admin broke their own rules.”</p><p>“Wait, wait...you’re saying Dream broke you communicators?” Puffy asked, her ears twitching lightly. Her hands moved to hold onto her own communicator tightly.</p><p>“What else do you expect from him? He’s done it before. Actually, none of the server rules even matter anymore. The griefing rule has been thrown out the window expect for that one time, stealing is done by every single person on the server, Dream’s destroyed communicators at least four times at this point, and nobody even uses the courthouse anymore,” Tubbo said, recounting all the memories he had of each rule slowly turning to nothing but dust. It all went down hill when flames were lit against a tree that stood tall, when two of the original members got two of the other members to fight against one another. </p><p>People always thought the Disc Wars had started out of nowhere, that one day Dream had just simply taken them away from Tommy, or that the two had always fought out of nowhere. But Tubbo remembered what actually happened between the two of them. </p><p>If only it never escalated to what it was now. If only Sapnap had never lit Ponk’s Lemon Tree on fire. If only Ponk and Alyssa hadn’t burned down Sapnap’s house in return. If only Sapnap and Ponk didn’t drag Tommy and Dream into their fight. </p><p>Eret adjusted their glasses, crossing their arms. “Tubbo’s right about that. I know you two joined the server after the Final Battle of Marburg and Pogtopia, so you only know about how things are at the moment.”  He stood quiet for a moment, before continuing. “Back when Dream offered me a place to stay on the server, there was the occasional stealing, the occasional griefing, but it was never as bad as it is now.”</p><p>Tubbo nodded to Eret, but quickly changed the subject. “It’s beside the point though, this server isn’t like the haven we all thought it would be. But I have to go. I need to talk with Sam. Surely he’ll listen to what I have to say.” </p><p>Tubbo pushed himself off the bed, his feet landing against the wooden floor. His legs started shaking, before letting go of his body, sending the teen flying to the floor. Luckily for him, Puffy had caught him by the arms in time. </p><p>“Tubbo, you need to stay in bed. Just because you used a Totem doesn’t mean you’re completely fine. You aren’t someone like Phil or Techno who can go back to their normal ways after using one,” Puffy said, helping Tubbo back to his feet. </p><p>“You don’t understand! Dream’s gonna put my best friend in that primeforsaken prison! He’s gonna put <em>Tommy</em> in Pandora’s Vault!” Tubbo shouted, his voice breaking slightly. </p><p>If anyone else would have been standing in that room, they would have noticed how long it took until another person spoke another word.</p><p>Eret was the first to speak. “Tommy’s...going to the Prison? You mean that thing Dream’s been going on and on about at the meetings?” Eret paused. “Tubbo, how did the confrontation with Dream go? I...I assumed it would go well because you’re...you’re Tubbo and Tommy! The dynamic duo who could get through hell and back alive!” </p><p>Tubbo almost laughed, wiping off a fake tear. “Tommy thought the same thing. He didn’t want to believe that I would die. I was...I was so accepting of death. I was gonna…” Tubbo’s breath shook, choking back a sob. “I was gonna lose my <em>last</em> canon life.” </p><p>Puffy pulled the goat hybrid in for a tight hug. “Hey, hey, the important thing is that you didn’t, right? You’re still here. You’re still alive.”</p><p>“I saw Wilbur and Schlatt. I saw them for just a moment. But it felt like hours, Puffy. It felt as if I was trapped in there for hours.,” Tubbo choked out, embracing the hug. “He almost killed me, Puffy. He struck an <em>axe</em> through my chest. How...how am I even alive? It should have killed me on the spot.”</p><p>A hand ran through Tubbo’s hair, it gave warmth and comfort. “But it didn’t. You did make it through despite those odds, and we’re so happy you’re here. I know you’re worried about Tommy, we all are after what you told us, but at least you aren’t dead.”</p><p>Eret nodded, putting a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder. “Puffy’s right. If you were dead, well, I don’t know what I would do. I don’t know what the server would do if you died and Tommy got stuck in prison without anyone knowing.”</p><p>Ranboo piped into the conversation too, grabbing onto one of Tubbo’s hands. “You’ve been through a lot, Tubbo. You really deserved that two day...well, I guess it would count as a coma.” </p><p>Tubbo shoved everyone from him, stumbling back onto his bed. “Two days? I’ve been out for <em>two</em> days?” He wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t stop you guys from doing anything, right?”</p><p>Puffy shook her head. “Not much. Eret still had his kingly duties, Ranboo occasionally went out for some errands, but I didn’t have much to do. Although there is something we have to do later today, Dream said something about an announcement.” Puffy eyes froze open. “ Oh. That’s where he’ll...oh god.”</p><p>Tubbo struggled to stand, holding his weight against the poles of the bed. “Let me go. I need to know what lies that green monster tells everyone.”</p><p>“Tubbo, you know you should really stay in bed-”</p><p>“Eret, please! He’s...he’s gonna say some fucked up shit about, Tommy. I know he will. I want to hear exactly what he says.”</p><p>“Doesn’t he want you dead though? If he sees you...that’s it for you. It isn’t like we’re in a village or a city, there’s only a few dozen of us on this server,” Ranboo said, chewing his lip. “Tubbo, I don’t want to take the risk of you dying.”</p><p>“I’m used to taking the risk of dying already. I fought through a revolution and lost a single life, I lost another life after risking it from being a spy, and I <em>don’t</em> want to lose another. But I’ll risk it if it means I know what I’m dealing with to save my best friend,” Tubbo said, his eyes meeting with Eret for just a moment. He didn’t mean to do it, really. But whenever Tubbo thought of his lives, he couldn't help but think of Eret. He couldn’t change the fact that it was Eret’s fault Tubbo’s first life was snatched away from him.</p><p>Before the other two could say anything, Eret grabbed a potion of invisibility, handing it to the teen. “Here, Tubbo. I know you well enough that none of us can back you out of this. But you have to be careful, got it? But I’m sure you already know that, you always go into things with a plan.”</p><p>“Thanks, Eret. Now come on, we don’t want to be late to Dream’s little announcement.”</p><p>After Tubbo drank the potion of invisibility, the four of them headed out to the fallen apart community house. It was the only place people knew to gather when it came to things, and someone had at least drained out the water that poured into it.</p><p>Tubbo remembered the shouts he and Tommy had screamed at one another. Tubbo remembered how despite the chaos around them, when Tommy had screamed those words, everyone fell silent.</p><p>But the words Tommy shouted that day were proven wrong when he and Tubbo had gone to fight against Dream one final time. Why couldn’t it have been one last time? Why couldn’t they have gotten their happy ending?</p><p>The other members of the server had gathered in the community house, minus a handful of people who either moved out the mainlands or just didn’t care to attend. The exception to this were the two people that were allowed to leave the server after it had gone on lockdown, one who left after Doomsday and the other who was allowed to come in and leave at free will.  </p><p>Tubbo didn’t realize his hand slipping into Ranboo’s at the sight of green walking through the crowd. He didn’t realize how tight his grip was in Ranboo’s hand at the sight of a smiling mask. </p><p>A <em>red stained</em> smiling mask. </p><p>Dream.</p><p>Tubbo didn’t hear the growl come out his own throat at the sight, only catching attention to it when Eret muttered for the teen to be quiet. Why was Tubbo feeling this way? He was the logical one. The smart one. He wasn’t like Tommy who wanted to head dive into things without a plan. </p><p>One of the people in the crowd shouted at the man who stood in the center. “Dream! Care to explain why you thought it would be oh so important to gather us all here?” </p><p>“I just thought you would all know about this very special news. I think you’ll be especially interested in this one, Sapnap,” Dream said, beginning to hum casually as he spared a glance to his old best friend.  </p><p>“Does it have to do with the disappearance of Tubbo and Tommy?” Karl asked, flicking through the pages of a book. “We all wished them goodbye as they went to fight...<em>you.”’</em></p><p>Dream grimaced as soon as Karl spoke, if you could see behind the mask, the man’s eyes would be locked onto the book in Karl’s hand. “Right, right...all those goodbyes you said. I don’t remember you being there, Karl Jacobs.”</p><p>“I <em>was</em> there, Dream.” </p><p>Tubbo glanced back and forth between the two, most of the people in the community house did the same. </p><p>“Hm, are you sure about that? Maybe your memory is getting a little foggy there, Jacobs.”</p><p>“My memory’s perfectly fine, Dream. Better than yours maybe considering everything.”</p><p>“I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two, but we’re here because of one thing only and not this little kid bickering,” Quackity said, grabbing onto Karl’s hand. “Just tell us what happened to Tommy and Tubbo. </p><p>Dream pulled out a piece of cloth from under his cloak, holding it into the air. “This was Tubbo’s bandana from two days ago. Of course, you would all know that. The little goat’s been wearing that thing whenever he can, even during his presidency it was tied on his wrist.” He paused. “So he wouldn’t take it off no matter what, right?” </p><p>Tubbo’s breath quickened at the bandana, a bright crimson red given to him years ago at this point. Small patches sewed into the cloth to prevent it from breaking, but at this point it was just a mangled mess. </p><p>“Dream, what are you <em>on</em> about? Did you do something to those two?” Ponk asked, his hand getting close to the sword by his side. </p><p>“When would I have ever done anything to them? Look, I was gonna give Tommy his discs back and then those two could have gone on their merry way. But of course things didn’t go as planned,” Dream said, moving around the broken community house like a slippery, shitty, snake. </p><p>Tubbo shuddered at Dream’s tone, it was familiar in a strange way, it was the tone Dream used when the two of them would play chess or discuss politics. Why was it making Tubbo panic? Tubbo wasn’t the one who was in exile alone with Dream. Tubbo was the one who was with his friends. He shouldn’t feel this way. </p><p>“Just get on with it, Dream! We don’t have all day for you to just go on and on about whatever fight you two had. Get to the point,” Another member of the crowd hissed, a voice Tubbo couldn’t disquinish from the rest. It was most likely a member who stayed away from the mainlands, someone like Alyssa or HBomb. </p><p>Dream shrugged, tossing the bandana to the crowd. “Alright, alright, here goes nothing. Don’t get freaked out over the news, after all, this hasn’t happened for how long now...a year?”</p><p>The crowd muttered to one another, whispers between the different groups of people. Tubbo’s heart raced just waiting for whatever bullshit Dream spat out of his venomous mouth. </p><p>“Tommy grew too obsessed with the discs, those silly little things, and killed Tubbo in coldhearted blood just to get his hands on them.” </p><p>Tubbo’s heart stopped. </p><p>“He said he wanted to prove a point to me.”</p><p>
  <em>No, no, no. That wasn’t true. That’s not true.</em>
</p><p>“That he didn’t care about Tubbo anymore. That he hated him even.”</p><p>
  <em>Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. </em>
</p><p>“So Tommy swung out an axe, he killed his best friend in the whole world.”</p><p>
  <em>That’s not true. Tommy screamed when Dream swung the axe. Tommy was willing to have the discs burn if it meant Tubbo would live.</em>
</p><p>“He even laughed as he did it. He confessed to destroying the very building we stand in right now.”</p><p>
  <em>Not true. Dream had told it to them both as they stood alone on the cliffside. </em>
</p><p>“Tommy took Tubbo’s last life on the server. Tubbo is dead.” </p><p>The crowd grew loud, yelling with confusion, shouting questions toward the green man. Disbelief shook through the server members. Tubbo had to bite his lip to keep him from saying anything at all. </p><p>Dream turned away from everyone, heading to the direction of prison. “You don’t have to worry about Tommy anymore. He’s been put into the prison for killing Tubbo in such a gruesome manner. No visitors for the sake of keeping the server safe as well.” </p><p>With that, the masked man left the community house without another word to the crowd. Everyone began to split off to different parts of the server, talking amongst themselves about the news. </p><p>It left Eret, Puffy, Ranboo, and an invisible Tubbo standing alone. </p><p>Was this how Tommy felt during his days with Technoblade? He knew everyone thought he was dead. He knew about the funeral they’d all had done. </p><p>Is this how it feels knowing everyone besides a few people thought you were dead?<br/>
“Tubbo, you’re still here, right?” Eret asked softly, making sure nobody could hear her if they tried to listen in. </p><p>“I am.”</p><p>“Look, let’s get you to the castle. We’ll figure...something out. But we aren’t gonna stand around and do nothing,” Eret said, passing a glance to the other two people beside them. </p><p>Ranboo’s face was pale, the hand not holding Tubbo’s crunched in a fist. “Dream wants you dead, Tubbo. We can’t let anyone know you’re alive. We can’t take the risk of Dream potentially finding out.”</p><p>Puffy nodded, looking out to the setting sun that laid on the coast. “They’re both right. But we can promise you one thing, Tubbo. We can promise you that we can and will get Tommy out of that prison. No matter what.”</p><p>“I hope you’re right,” Tubbo muttered, just as the invisibility potion wore off. Puffy threw another cloak over the goat hybrid just as he appeared to the rest of them, covering anyone’s view.</p><p>Tubbo didn’t listen to what the other three said, just focusing on one thing and only one thing.</p><p>Tubbo was coming for <em>his</em> Tommy. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ayy and that's the end of another chapter!</p><p>next chapter we'll finally get Sam to pop into the story, and see what's going on with Tommy in prison<br/>Spoiler Warning: tommy isn't doing pogchamp in prison </p><p>at least tubbo got a hug this chapter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Back From The Ashes One Final Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i speedran this after tommys lore stream today because theres mention of henry in this chapter and henry was in todays stream<br/>but jesus this sat in my drafts for days but i finished it after at least 15 days pfft</p><p>TW: Hallucinations, Amputation, Child Abuse, Attempted Murder, Implied Animal Death (don't worry it happened in the past), and Suicidal Thoughts (only for a small bit though, if you need to skip it, just stop reading after "In the quiet of his mind, one thought whispered into his ears," and you can continue reading at "His thoughts were cut short with something grabbing his wrist,")</p><p>yeah this chapter really takes a one up from the previous ones</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Blackstone and obsidian walls surrounded the teen who only stood in the cell, his eyes watching the lava fall against the only entrance. The only exit. Nobody’s come out of the entrance at all since Tommy was thrown in the cell. </p><p>Thank <em> fucking </em>god Dream didn’t try and visit him. He didn’t want to see the man who took one of the last things Tommy had in his life. He didn’t want Dream to see the tears that still fell down the teen’s face. </p><p>It wasn’t like Tommy wanted to cry, he tried to stop himself from it. He didn’t want to cry. He wanted to stay strong. For Tubbo. Tubbo would want him to be strong. Tubbo would want Tommy to keep fighting. If Tommy cried, he would be <em> weak.  </em></p><p>If Tommy was weak whenever Dream eventually came around, it wouldn’t be too long before the fake comforting words would tangle his mind. Dream always knew exactly what to say. Dream always knew exactly what to do. </p><p><em> Not this time. </em> Tommy wiped away the tears off his face with his sleeves, before sitting against the walls and glancing to the clock by the sink. The little arrows pointed to a time that Tommy <em> refused </em>to believe. </p><p>The clock read that it was around 3 in the morning. Straight in the middle of the night. An ungodly time at night, a time where he <em> should </em>be asleep. He should be snoring in a bed right now.</p><p>Instead, Tommy’s stuck in a primeforsaken cell with only a clock for company and the thoughts in his head. </p><p>It was almost like-</p><p>
  <em> No.  </em>
</p><p>No, Tommy wasn’t gonna think about that, He wasn’t gonna think about the cursed plains with craters littered everywhere. Tiny remains of the tent and the singular house that stood there. Some might see the body of a cow that laid at the bottom of a hole, but it was only a mere skeleton at that point.</p><p>It was <em> stupid </em> of Tommy to get attached to <em> another </em> animal. He got attached to <em> another </em>cow. Even though the cow brought the phoenix comfort, Tommy should have known in the end it would have just been taken from him. </p><p>The cow’s name was Henry after all. </p><p>Tommy still remembered the first of the three Henry’s he had. He remembered the large cow that would accompany him during his time in the forest, with yellow skin and soft white patches. He remembered how Tommy found the cow wandering in the forest, alone and just as terrified as the boy.</p><p>
  <em> “Why are you alone out here?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy’s hands tightened on the single knife he had, the one weapon he managed to smuggle out of the local blacksmith in the closest village to him. It was the only thing he had to defend himself from whatever type of cow this was.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He’s never seen this type of cow before now that he thought about it. Sure, Tommy did live in the mountains for the first six years of his life so maybe he wasn’t aware of what most animals looked like or sounded like. Just this past week he came across a fox and nearly killed it after it hopped out of the bushes. But Tommy wasn’t stupid at all. He still went down to the village at the mountainside occasionally to run errands, he saw the farm animals and rabbits.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It led Tommy to a conclusion. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Did you lose your family?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> No response. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I lost mine too.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The cow stared down at him with its dark eyes, before approaching closer to the small boy. Tommy stumbled back, the knife sliding out his hand and landing in the grass.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey! Stay back or I’ll- I’ll pluck the flowers out your body!” Tommy shouted, his shoulders tensing. “You do seem pretty happy with them though. You probably need them too, like how I need my wings. It would suck for me to have clipped feathers, so it would suck for you if I ripped off those flowers.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Did Tommy really get this desperate to talk with someone? He was talking to a literal cow, in the middle of the forest, miles away from any village, with nothing but a knife that he dropped somewhere. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A loud moo came from the cow, it grew closer to Tommy before stopping right in front of him, kneeling down to the ground so they were eye to eye. It lightly nudged against Tommy’s shoulder, still staring, laying still.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy placed a hand on the cow’s head, his shoulders relaxing. The cow embraced the hand, leaning into it and another noise came from its throat. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You know what? I really like you, even if you are taller than me. How about I give you a name?” Tommy paused like the cow could respond. “Alright then. You seem like a Henry to me. How about it, Henry? Is that a good name for you? I think it’s the best name for someone like you. If I could rename myself I would call myself Henry.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> All Henry did was stare at Tommy again, but something about the eyes brought comfort to the child who now had a companion in the forest. </em>
</p><p>Tommy grumbled under his breath, burying the memory back into his mind again. He met the first Henry almost a decade ago. The first Henry <em>died</em> almost a decade ago. </p><p>He hated hunters with every bone of his body. All of them were nothing but a bunch of wrongens who ripped apart friends and families. The only good thing that came out of it was meeting Wilbur and Tubbo. Tommy couldn’t think of anything else. </p><p>Most people didn’t know about the first or last Henrys, but they still existed. They still brought comfort to Tommy at his lowest points. They still died when he needed them most. </p><p>Maybe once Tommy got out of this damned cell, he can go visit Logstedshire one last time to give the last Henry a proper burial like the other two had. The grave can go right beside Mexican Dream’s grave, he could commission someone like Sam to make the grave.</p><p><em> Oh wait. </em>Sam was the Warden of the prison wasn’t he? Tommy couldn’t go ask the Warden to build a gravestone for a dead animal killed by the person who commissioned Sam to build the very prison he was stuck in. </p><p>Fine then, there were plenty of other great builders on this server who were worthy enough to build the last Henry’s grave. Maybe he can ask Niki or Ghostbur for help, they had both helped Tommy with building in the past few years. </p><p>Tommy could ask both of them for help when they would make Tubbo’s grave.</p><p>The phoenix’s breath shook, his eyes closing for just a moment before shooting open. He couldn’t even blink without seeing the body. He couldn’t sleep either, he found that out on the first night of prison.</p><p>All Tommy could see was the axe slicing into Tubbo’s stomach. He stepped in his best friend’s <em> blood </em>trying to hold his body, trying to bring him comfort in Tubbo’s final moments. </p><p>He couldn’t get the sight out of his head. He couldn’t get it out. </p><p>When Wilbur and Schlatt died, Tommy had quickly forgotten about Schlatt’s body after a few days. He would only see Wilbur getting stabbed in his nightmares for <em> months </em>on end. The only difference between those two in the past and now, was that at least he had people back then.</p><p>Tubbo or Fundy usually helped him when he woke up from those nightmares, they were always there for him. In return, Tommy helped them whenever they got nightmares about the death of their former leader, their former family member. </p><p>But now Tommy was alone in a cell surrounded by lava and obsidian. A bed wasn’t even provided to rest in when the floor began to burn from the heat. </p><p>
  <em> “It’s your fault, Tommy.” </em>
</p><p>The teen’s eyes didn’t leave the floor, his attention on the cracks of the obsidian. </p><p>
  <em> “You dragged me into this, right?” </em>
</p><p>Tommy grinded his teeth against each other and held his breath.</p><p>
  <em> “Come on big man, look at me. It could be the last time you ever see me.” </em>
</p><p>He shook his head, covering his ears. “You’re not real. You’re <em> not </em>real.”</p><p>
  <em> “But I am. I’m real to you, Tommy. You looked at me yesterday, why won’t you look at me now?” </em>
</p><p>Tommy’s body shook.</p><p>
  <em> “Just look at me, Tommy.” </em>
</p><p>Tommy’s body trembled.</p><p>“<em> Look what Dream did to me because of you.” </em></p><p>The phoenix’s eyes shot up to look up at his best friend.</p><p>Tubbo’s shirt was stained with red, his eyes piercing into Tommy’s soul. His skin was pale, the only thing that let Tommy know that the boy that stood in front of him wasn’t a ghost was not being able to see the lava behind. </p><p>Tommy mouthed the words he wished he could tell the <em> real </em>Tubbo. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>
  <em> “Are you?”  </em>
</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Tubbo.”</p><p>Tommy closed his eyes for a second, wincing at the image that flashed for just a moment, but when he opened his eyes there was only the company of a clock and a lectern. </p><p>
  <em> Please don’t let him be alone for another day.  </em>
</p><p>Tommy’s ears twitched at a muffled sound from outside the cell. He couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was, <em> who </em>it was. He rushed to the side of the lava once more, stumbling up from the floor and nearly tripping over his feet. </p><p>The warm heat of the lava stung his face, making it hard to breath and hard to keep looking at it. But <em> someone </em>was out there. Tommy wanted to look at whoever it was, he needed to see whoever it was. </p><p>He watched as the sheet of lava started to slowly fall apart, splitting into two. Maybe there was a chance that someone was here to let him leave? Maybe the rest of the server realized Tubbo got killed by Dream and decided to end the green bastard. Maybe they realized Tommy was trapped inside of the prison. </p><p>
  <em> Tommy was going to be saved. </em>
</p><p>The small hope that bloomed inside his chest fell apart in just seconds as the wall of lava completely fell apart. It was replaced with a fear that spread through his veins and crawled up his spine, infesting his brain. </p><p>Someone stood on the other side of the lava, with that <em> damned </em>mask covering his face. He stepped upon the bridge that stood above the lava, before the clicks of pistons and running of redstone filled the room. </p><p>Tommy stumbled back to one of the corners of the cell again, hands clenched into fists and his eyes focusing on the obsidian floor. <em> Please go away. Go away. Go away.  </em></p><p>Someone stepped into the cell. <em> Someone </em>was staring at Tommy. He shut his eyes, trying his best to not think of the image ingrained in his mind.  The person approached him, footsteps echoing in the small cell and a hand latched onto his shoulder. </p><p>“Did you miss my company?” </p><p>“Fuck off.”</p><p>Dream chuckled, his nails digging into Tommy’s shoulder. “Really, Tommy? I’m the only person to visit you after two days and that’s what you say?” Dream hummed a soft melody to himself. </p><p>Tommy grabbed Dream’s hand, pushing both it and the man away. “I’d rather have Techno here over you.” He stared at the smiling mask. “He doesn’t play mind games like you.” </p><p>Dream tilted his head, humming softly. “We both know Techno would take your last life if he was in this cell. You wouldn’t want to lose that life, right?”</p><p>Tommy swallowed hard, lowering his head. His last life was in the hands of Dream whether he liked it or not. The boy’s first two lives were taken away from him when he was just at the age of 13 by the very man who stood in front of him now. He’s had only one life much longer than anyone on the server. </p><p>Yet Dream knew the answer to his own question already.</p><p>“Tommy, you’re not gonna die anytime soon,” Dream said, completely still and unmoving. “I wouldn’t let it happen.” </p><p>“It isn’t like you control life and death, Dream! You might think you have power over everyone on this <em> shitty </em> server, that you control them all like little puppets that’ll bend to your will,” Tommy said, not bothering to look at Dream still. “But you’re wrong about that, Dream. People like Techno or Jack Manifold would <em> never </em>bow down to the likes of you.”</p><p>Dream chuckled, kneeling down to Tommy’s eye level. “Soon enough I’ll have <em> all </em> their attachments, Tommy. I’ll control every single one of them because I’m a <em> god, </em> Tommy. I’m an actual god who’ll have <em> you </em> and <em> Techno </em>and every other person who thinks they can rebel against me under my feet.” </p><p>Tommy pried his eyes off the floor, his eyes clicking with the porcelain mask. “You aren’t a god, Dream! You’re just some <em> dickhead </em> who happens to be the Admin of this server!” The phoenix jumped onto his feet, his wings fluttering from the slight tremble down his spine. “Why don’t you just fuck off now? I’d rather be alone in this <em> pity </em> cell than have you talk with me for more than five minutes.”</p><p>Tommy glared at the masked man who showed no emotion, he wasn’t even sure if Dream counted as a person anymore. Not after exile. Not after Doomsday. Not after what he did to Tubbo. </p><p>The teen’s hands twitched with anticipation, his mind yelling at him to do <em> something. </em> A small part of his mind told him to shove Dream into the wall of lava. <em> Take one of his lives. Burn him in the lava. Kill him. Kill Dream. </em>It didn’t help when the other half of his mind was screaming at him to apologize to Dream. </p><p><em> Why did he want to apologize? He shouldn’t want that. He didn’t want that. </em>That part of him kept screaming at him despite the more logical part of him reminding Tommy of all the things Dream did. </p><p>“Remember what I told you in exile, Tommy?”</p><p>Any thoughts going through Tommy’s mind stopped.</p><p>“What...what about exile?”</p><p>Dream paused for a moment, before snapping his fingers. “Your wings. Do you remember what I said about your wings?” </p><p>Tommy’s face paled, a memory he had buried deep down starting to resurface. “You didn’t tell me anything. You didn’t….you just clipped them and that was it.”</p><p>Dream shook his head, almost like a disappointed mother. “Come on, Tommy. I can tell by the look on your face you know <em> exactly </em>what I said.”</p><p>No words came out of Tommy.</p><p>“Just <em> say </em>it, Tommy. It’s not that hard to say a simple sentence.”</p><p>Tommy held his breath. “You told me that if I ever...left exile. You’d uh, you would…” Tommy’s throat was dry. “You would make sure I couldn’t fly off again.”</p><p>Dream drew closer, an axe summoned into his right hand. “Exile may have been months ago at this point, but I finally have you back underneath my feet to do whatever the <em> hell </em>I want.” His hand tightened onto the handle. “I can even destroy the wings of one of the last phoenixs’ alive.”</p><p>“You stay the <em> fuck </em> away! Don’t you fucking touch me with your shitty axe!” Tommy shouted, stepping back. “They’re the only thing that I’ve had with me for the entire existence of this server! They’re the only thing I can truly call <em> mine </em>without having to worry about it being taken away!”</p><p>Dream swung the axe at Tommy’s wings, the phoenix barely being able to throw himself out the way. “It’d be fitting wouldn’t it? Having your wings taken away by the same thing that took your Tubbo?”</p><p>
  <em> Tubbo.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was the axe that took away his Tubbo.  </em>
</p><p>Tommy had stopped for just a moment, before a sharp agony burnt through his left wing. A small scream ripped out his throat, the pain itself sent the phoenix almost tumbling to the ground. But he had grabbed onto the lectern with shaky hands to keep him from hitting the ground. </p><p>If Tommy fell to the ground, it would be over for his wings before he even attempted to get up. </p><p>“You know, you’re making it harder on yourself. As soon as your wings are gone, I’ll just call Sam to make sure you won’t die.” Dream pondered for a moment. “Well, I could <em> technically </em>let you die. But it wouldn’t be as fun as this.”</p><p>“<em> Fun? </em> You think chopping off my wings is something <em> fun?” </em>Tommy shouted, grabbing a book from the lectern and throwing it at Dream.</p><p>The book, of course, missed Dream by several feet and slammed against the wall before falling to the floor. Dream merely glanced at it before his attention went back to Tommy, laughing again.</p><p>“Of course, Tommy, of course. Your silly little book is gonna stop me from taking the last thing you have,” Dream said, trying to hold back the laughter that still came out his throat. </p><p>“Leave me alone, leave me <em> alone! Fuck off!” </em> Tommy let out a harsh breath, trying to keep his mind off the sharp pain in his wing. He couldn’t <em> lose </em>his wings. He just couldn’t. Not again. Tommy wouldn’t lose his wings again. </p><p>The only difference between now and exile is that if he lost his wings now, they’d be gone forever. His connection with <em> Phil </em>would be gone forever. The older avian might hate him for what happened at the Green Festival, and Tommy should hate Phil for what happened on Doomsday, but he couldn’t bring himself to think of the man in any bad way.</p><p>Dream grabbed Tommy’s shirt, pulling him forward and looked down at the phoenix with the blank mask. “Enough with the running and dodging, Tommy. It’s getting tiring, and boring.”</p><p>Tommy spat at Dream’s face. “I’m tired of you <em> constantly </em>making my life miserable!”</p><p>It was a decision made on the spot, he didn't know why he did it. Tommy didn’t know why pushed himself off of Dream and just stood there for a moment. Tommy didn’t know why he listened to what his thoughts screamed at him to do.</p><p>Tommy didn’t know why he shoved Dream right into the lava. </p><p>He watched the admin of the server fall into the lava, getting eaten by the magma and heat. </p><p>“Dream?” Tommy asked, as if the man was still standing right in front of him. He hated how his voice sounded so <em> meek. </em>He despised how he still asked for Dream despite just pushing him into the lava.</p><p>
  <em> Tommy just killed someone, didn’t he? </em>
</p><p>TommyInnIt just killed Dream. </p><p>Tommy’s breath shook. The walls around him were gonna <em> crush </em> him at this point with how fast they were closing in. He shouldn’t be <em> panicking </em> about killing Dream. He shouldn’t be <em> shaking </em>about pushing Dream.</p><p>Why was he so scared?</p><p>“I just killed Dream,” Tommy shuddered. “I killed someone.”</p><p>Tommy’s never killed someone before right? </p><p>
  <strike> <em> He remembered shoving Jack into the lava. He was never sure if he made it out or not.  </em> </strike>
</p><p>No, no, Tommy definitely never killed someone before. This was his first time. His first time taking another person’s life. </p><p>At the very least, Dream wouldn’t bother him for another few hours. It all really depended on the person themselves with how long they wanted to wait before they came back. During the L’Manburg Revolution, Tommy had to come back in just a few minutes after getting his throat slit by Dream. His next death, the duel, took around 15 minutes before respawning after getting shot in the head with an arrow. </p><p>Tommy still remembered the Red Festival. He remembered how sick to stomach he was seeing the fireworks explode. He remembered the thought infecting his mind that Tubbo wouldn’t come back despite him having two lives when being murdered.</p><p>Tubbo took a few hours before respawning. </p><p>He remembered how the first thing Tubbo did after respawning was help Tommy escape Schlatt and the rest of his cabinet. Despite his best friend just getting executed by the President, Tubbo still shot the ram in the leg to distract the citizens of Manburg. Niki saw what Tubbo was doing and shot the ram again with a crossbow. </p><p>
  <em> But whenever Dream respawned this time round, Tubbo wouldn’t be there to save him.  </em>
</p><p>Tommy doubted Niki would attempt to save him. He wasn’t naive. He knew Niki didn’t like him anymore. He knew Niki might have even wanted him <em> dead. </em></p><p>Tommy missed L’manburg, didn’t he? </p><p>His eyes blankly stared at the lava once more, his mind buzzing with no thoughts at all. With Dream gone, he would go back to rotting alone in a cell. Alone. With walls crushing him. With just a ticking clock.</p><p>Dream <em> could </em>have told everyone a lie that made them not try to save him. Or they could all just hate him naturally. But they couldn’t hate him for all the things he’s done, right? Tommy’s been trying his best, he really has.</p><p>Tommy knew he was a bad person when living with Techno. He knew he still had to apologize to Fundy, maybe tell Connor he was sorry about taking him hostage. But Tommy knew personally that sorry doesn’t fix things sometimes. </p><p>In the quiet of his mind, one thought whispered into his ears.</p><p>
  <em> You should touch the lava. </em>
</p><p>Tommy reached his hand out before shaking his head, pulling it back against his chest. No, no, no. He couldn’t think like <em> that </em> again. He was done with that part of him. He was done longingly staring at lava for hours on end until <em> Someone </em>grabbed his arm and brought him back to where he belonged. </p><p>On the other hand though, Tommy could go with Tubbo. He wouldn’t have to be alone in a pitiful cell that was gonna make him snap at any moment now. He wouldn’t have to be alone with his thoughts. </p><p>
  <em> Tommy could still have his wings when dying. He wouldn’t have to lose them to some bastard with a god complex.  </em>
</p><p>His thoughts were cut short with something grabbing his wrist. Tommy let out a small scream, stumbling back, bringing whatever grabbed onto him down to the stone floor too. </p><p>Tommy hissed in pain when his head slammed against the ground, sending a ringing noise through his ears. He couldn’t see whoever it was who grabbed him from the <em> lava </em>of all places. His vision was mixing together too many colors, the blacks mixed with the grays and reds mixed with the purples. </p><p>One color stood out from the rest after a few seconds of putting himself back together.</p><p>
  <em> Green. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Bright Green. </em>
</p><p>“Dream?” Tommy whispered, hearing the blood rush to his head. He struggled to make out the figure he presumed was Dream. It <em> had </em>to be him. There was the bright green hoodie and what he assumed must be his face-</p><p>
  <em> Tommy can see his face.  </em>
</p><p>He’d only seen Dream’s face a few times before on the server, some people thought he didn’t even have a face. But Tommy saw it plenty of times during the Disc Wars. He saw it a few times during his exile.</p><p>Now Tommy saw it again, with the mask cracked right in the middle. </p><p>
  <em> Except Dream didn’t look human.  </em>
</p><p>Dream’s face reminded him of a dark, swirling void. A void that you would get caught in yourself if you got too close. But this was the same server where you had a king with white eyes, an Angel of Death, and an ex Prince of Demons. If Dream was some sort of eldritch it wouldn’t bother Tommy in the slightest.</p><p>The thing that bothered Tommy the most about Dream’s face, <em> were the eyes. </em></p><p>Three huge eyes stared down at him, flashing a color that Tommy hadn’t even seen before. <em> He was seeing a color he didn’t even know existed. </em>But the phoenix couldn’t look away. Despite the blurry vision, he couldn’t help but continue staring into those eyes. </p><p>It only takes the sound of a netherite blade for Tommy to snap his eyes out of Dream’s, rolling over to the side and hearing the clank of the axe against the floor. He scrambled up against the wall, glaring at the man who stood with a shattered mask and lava dripping off his clothes. </p><p>“You’re <em> alive? But I- </em>I pushed you in the lava! You should be dead! Your clothes they’re even-”</p><p>“You shoved me into the lava, Tommy.”</p><p>Tommy’s blood ran cold.</p><p>“You didn’t actually believe <em> that </em> would kill me? Maybe a sword, or an axe...but <em> lava? </em>You thought lava would take me down?” </p><p>Tommy watched the man grow closer to him.</p><p>“I really was gonna try and make it quick, Tommy.”</p><p>Dream tossed the mask to the side, showing his true colors. Tommy couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move? He needed to <em> move he needed to move he needed to move he needed to move.  </em></p><p>“Please- <em> please- </em> stay away from me don’t- don’t <em> touch </em>me!” </p><p>Tommy couldn’t stop the panic in his voice, the fear clawing its way into his throat. He couldn’t even stop the desperate chirps that soon started to come out of his mouth. </p><p>
  <em> Stop it Stop It Stop It Stop It. Stop being scared. You need to figure out a plan before there’s no time left.  </em>
</p><p>A single kick to the ribs sent Tommy rolling over onto his stomach. He shook on the ground, attempting to get up, but was only met with another kick to the side which led to him letting out a screech.</p><p>Dream watched him from above, sending another kick to the ribs to make sure Tommy wouldn’t get up. “Who would have thought last week that today, the<em> Great</em> TommyInnIt, would be underneath my feet unable to move.” </p><p>Tommy’s wings started to flap frantically, hitting against Dream who tried his best to push the wings away. <em> Please don’t take them away, don’t take them away. He can’t handle it. He can’t lose his wings please please please. </em></p><p>“If you don’t <em> stop </em> with the wing flapping, I’ll just chop off someone else’s wings.”</p><p>Tommy held his breath, freezing. </p><p>“Let’s see, let’s see…” Dream paused, pondering on the other people of the server. “I could always get rid of your dear friend <em> Quackity’s </em>wings. He sure loves those things, takes pretty good care of them too from what I’ve seen.”</p><p>“Leave him the hell alone,” Tommy hissed out, his own heartbeat pounding through his ears. “He did nothing to you! He <em> needs </em>his wings!” </p><p>
  <em> Tommy remembered the day Quackity switched alliances from Manburg to Pogtopia. Tommy remembered asking to preen his friend’s wings only to see how broken they were. Tommy remembered seeing the huge grin on Quackity’s face once he could finally fly in the air. </em>
</p><p>“Oh!” Dream’s face lit up, his eyes peering down to Tommy. “I could always take the wings from the infamous <em> Angel of Death </em>! They’re nothing but a burden either way, old man’s wings were destroyed the second he protected your brother from that blast.”</p><p><em> “No!” </em> Tommy screamed, attempting to push himself off the floor but it was immediately stopped by Dream. “Don’t touch Phil’s wings! You- you can get rid of mine however you would like! Just <em> please </em>leave him alone!”</p><p>Dream gave a sinister grin and held his axe in the air. “We’ve come upon an agreement. Your wings will be gone in exchange for Quackity and Phil’s wings not ever getting destroyed by me. Deal?”</p><p>Tommy hesitated for just a moment, looking at his wings which stood still now, before nodding slowly. </p><p>“Great! <em> Now lay your wings against the floor and don’t move, Tommy. </em>”</p><p>He sucked in a breath, doing what Dream said, his wings slowly spreading across the floor. <em> He had to do it for Phil and Quackity. </em></p><p>Pain suddenly went through his left wing, making the phoenix scream for help despite knowing none would come. </p><p>Dream continued to hack into the left wing, each hit and strike leaving Tommy gasping for breath as the sick scent of blood filled the air. The teen almost caught himself begging for his friends to save him, begging for <em> Phil </em> or <em> Techno </em>to save him.</p><p><em> “Wilbur! </em> Wilbur <em> help me </em>- I can’t do this anymore!” Tommy screamed out the second Dream began to hack off his right wing. He covered his mouth as soon as the name came out, trying to ignore the screeches that wished to be heard. </p><p>“Hm?” Dream tilted his head to the side, holding the axe still. “You're calling a dead person’s name. Are you that desperate? I thought you wanted to protect Phil and Quackity. So how come you cry for help?”</p><p>Tommy struggled to breathe, but before he could pull himself together to answer Dream, there was a clean slice through the right wing and the muscle that was attached to his back. He let out a scream that burned through his throat, it was filled with agony and pain.</p><p>Even the thoughts in his mind were screaming at him from the pain that infected his body. His own body was lighter, trembling and twitching. All Tommy could focus on was his own breathing, it was the only way to ensure it wouldn’t be his last time. </p><p>Someone kneeled beside him, grabbing him by the arms and calling out for a familiar name. <em> Sam? </em>The person must be calling out for Sam. Dream said that after he finished his job he would call for the man. </p><p>Tommy kept being thrown back under an ocean ever so often, his eyes going blurry and dark and hearing muffled, before being dragged back to the surface and listening to whatever Dream and Sam would go on and on about.</p><p>He remembered seeing the white of a room, the only place that color would be in the dull prison. Tommy was laid against something soft, with his back facing up as someone worked with what was left of the wings. Constant splash potions of healing, the sweet scent replaced the blood, were used repeatedly.</p><p>Tommy was standing at one point in the white room, with a bloody, torn, shirt on his back. He swayed from side to side, almost falling to the ground if it weren’t for Dream of all people catching him. A hoodie was thrown in his arms, with Dream telling him it was better than a bloody t-shirt. </p><p>As soon as he finally got control of consciousness again, he was being led back to his miserable cell by Sam.  <em> Was Sam a good person? No, no, he was helping Dream with the prison. But it was only Sam’s job, he was paid for it. Sam didn’t even blink an eye to the blood and stubs on Tommy’s back. Then again, Tommy’s memories of what happened after Dream chopped off his wings were fuzzy.  </em></p><p>Dream snatched Tommy’s attention back. “You know, Tommy. I didn’t want to cut your wings off, I really didn’t. It was only a safety measure in case you tried anything with those phoenix wings of yours.” </p><p>He now had his signature mask back on, somehow crafting a new one during the time getting Tommy out his cell and leading the teen back inside of it. Dream followed both Sam and Tommy almost like a small child, with his arms behind his back and being right beside Tommy. </p><p>“If it were a safety measure, you could have just clipped them like in exile,” Tommy grumbled, dark circles underneath his eyes. “I already know the real reason you did it. It wasn’t the shitty one you gave right now, and it wasn’t the one you gave me in the cell.”</p><p>Dream gave Tommy a light punch to shoulder, laughing. “Sure, sure...whatever you say, Tommy.”</p><p>The three of them continued to walk in silence, walking through the halls only the Warden could go through, although in this case it applied to the prisoner and Dream himself. Tommy kept glancing at Sam, trying to find a hint at any emotion. Maybe regret? Guilt? All Tommy found was nothing but a neutral expression.</p><p>When they finally got to the main cell, Sam stopped for a moment to flip some levers and push some buttons. Tommy stood there, waiting, occasionally messing with the sleeves of his new hoodie and biting the strings. </p><p>“You know, Tommy. There’s another deal I want to make with you before you go back in that cell.”</p><p>Tommy glared at Dream, who was still watching him expectantly. Dream couldn’t really expect the phoenix, <em><strike> does he still count as a phoenix</strike>, </em>to listen to him again. Yet Tommy found himself still looking at him.</p><p>“What kind of a deal? Is it some sort of....get out of jail free card?” Tommy flashed a quick smile to Dream, but it quickly fell despite his best efforts to keep it up.</p><p>Dream chuckled, before grabbing Tommy’s arm and pulling him close. “I assure you it’s something better than that. Something that you would leap at the opportunity of having. I mean, if we make this one deal we could make even more one day!”</p><p>“I don’t really see how this is something I would die for. There’s nothing I can really do in prison after you... Tommy grimaced at the memory. “After you got rid of the last thing I had.” </p><p>“Listen here, Tommy. I want <em>you </em>to listen and behave for once. I won’t say how long exactly, but I just need you to do those simple things. Don’t try and defy me, don’t try and rebel against me. Just sit in your cell and listen to what your god has to say.”</p><p>“You’re not a fucking god, but I still don’t see what you could possibly offer someone in prison who can’t even get out.”</p><p>Sam had already begun to lead Tommy back to the main cell, with Dream of course following closely behind. A simple shove to the ground and the barrier came up to block any escape Tommy could make, <strike><em> if he even wanted to anymore.  </em></strike></p><p>Dream leaned against the barrier, the damned mask still smiling at him. “I can debate with that Tommy. Here’s the offer I can make, here’s what can really prove I’m a god.” He pulled his hands out from behind him, holding a small book in his hands.</p><p>“I can bring back Tubbo.”</p><p>Tommy’s eyes went bright, as he attempted to grab the book Dream held, but the man simply took a step back, just barely out of the boy’s grasp. <em> Tommy can get Tubbo back. He can get Tubbo. Tubbo. His best friend. He can hear his laugh again that wasn’t just a fake one that echoed in the walls.  </em></p><p>“Wait, Dream I-”</p><p>Dream continued to walk away from the cell, already on the other side of the room with the platform disappearing under his feet. The barrier went back underneath the floor, making Tommy go as far as he could to the edge of his cell without falling. </p><p>“Just think about my offer, okay?”</p><p>The lava fell back down from the ceiling, slowly making its way to cover the cell. Dream took off his mask to give one last look at Tommy, and the teen was simply met with a sinister, twisted, grin. </p><p>“I think we already both know the answer though, I'll see you tomorrow!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hoped you all enjoyed this chapter haha</p><p>we got to see how tommys holding up in prison and our first sam appearance! hooray! </p><p>chapter four should just be us going to our little subplot we have going on, i couldnt stop myself from including karlnapity plus ponk, so be sure to look out for them, and for storyline purposes, i had to change some of the rules for karl's time travel abilities since the the overall story arc for these four was written before it was revealed that he doesn't choose when or where he goes</p><p>but it should be fun nevertheless</p><p>i'll see you all next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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